First Nations living culture
Across the Open House Melbourne weekend, First Nations programs are woven through exhibitions, guided tours, public infrastructure, and creative activations. Together they present Melbourne not only as a built environment, but as a living cultural landscape shaped by ongoing First Nations knowledge, histories and futures. (All programs featured in this itinerary are listed at the bottom of this page.)
At the heart of the program, the Koorie Heritage Trust offers guided tours of its expanded home at Fed Square, where visitors can explore exhibitions, collections, and the culturally grounded design of the Birrarung Building. Across the weekend, works by Uncle Ray Thomas and immersive installations such as occupation studies: ngayanhurra bayarral Birrarung deepen understanding of the Birrarung as a living cultural entity, while family-friendly activities invite younger audiences into cultural making and storytelling.
At Craft Victoria, the First Peoples–led exhibition Camp Stove, curated by Kate ten Buuren, highlights Queer Blak survivance through contemporary craft and storytelling practices. This is complemented by experimental works in glass and ceramics, foregrounding material innovation alongside First Nations perspectives within a contemporary gallery setting.
The Queen Victoria Women’s Centre also opens its doors through a program shaped by care, history, and community. First Nations weaving workshops, exhibitions such as We Sit in Circle (presented with The Torch), and archival displays of the former Queen Victoria Hospital situate women’s and First Peoples’ histories side by side, reinforcing the site as one of collective memory and ongoing social justice practice.
At Donkey Wheel House, First Nations–led gatherings sit within a broader program of exhibitions, performances, and workshops that activate the building as a “living heritage” space.
Across the city’s infrastructure, the Melbourne Metro Tunnel becomes a major cultural canvas, where First Peoples knowledge is embedded into station design, public art, and landscape interventions. Connection to Country, guided by Elders and First Nations collaborators, including Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung contributors, is a walking tour that reveals how design processes at sites such as State Library and Town Hall stations have been shaped through deep consultation and cultural authority. These works emphasise Country as present within everyday movement through the city, not separate from it.
Extending beyond the CBD, the ngurrak barring arts & culture trail invites reflection on the Dandenong Ranges as a living cultural landscape. Through walking trails and dialogue, the program explores how pathways, songlines, and infrastructure can act as carriers of knowledge and responsibility, aligning with broader conversations in Designing with Country about how design can meaningfully support ongoing relationships with Country.
In Fitzroy, 3CR Community Radio opens its studios to the public, celebrating 50 years of community broadcasting that has long included First Nations voices and programming. Visitors are invited into the working life of the station, where storytelling, activism, and media-making demonstrate how First Peoples narratives continue to shape alternative media landscapes in Melbourne.
Whether through design interventions in major infrastructure, intimate cultural centres, walking landscapes, or community media, each program contributes to a broader understanding of Melbourne as a Generous City: one that acknowledges First Peoples sovereignty, elevates cultural knowledge, and opens civic space to shared future.
Learn about Treaty Victoria
